Health & Wellbeing

Herb ‘destroys’ the taste of sugar

By Fiona Chapman

GYMNEMA sylvestre is an Ayurvedic herb which means ‘sugar destroyer’. This is because if you take it, it ‘destroys’ the taste of sugar. It does, too!

You need to take a dropperful in a very small glass of water, swill it around your mouth for at least ten seconds, gargle for another ten, and then swallow. This procedure is important as there are taste receptors all over your tongue, right down to the back of it, and the gymnema needs to get into each taste bud. You then eat sugar and you can’t even taste the sweetness.

This is obviously a brilliant herb if you have a sweet craving or sweet tooth and are trying to stop eating sugar or to lose weight. It is also very good for fat metabolism as it stimulates the pancreas to release bile which helps to digest fats. I would not however just prescribe it if someone came to me saying they wanted to lose weight and would be extremely careful if that person was diabetic. It is no good just addressing a symptom and not the root cause.

Often weight gain is because you are eating the wrong food – fairly obviously – or not eating proper food, regularly.

Yoyo diets are notorious for being unsuccessful. Starving yourself puts the body into panic mode and any food it gets will be laid down as fat as it thinks it will need it for energy. Blood sugar levels then drop and invariably energy levels plummet so people reach for a sugary treat to give them a boost. This shoots the blood sugar up and provides a spike in energy which, after the sugar is burned up, leaves the body to crash down again and so a vicious cycle starts.

Eating regularly with preferably a protein breakfast will stabilise the blood sugar and mean energy is released slowly so avoiding those horrible dips. Having three good meals a day – they do not need to be huge, really we should only really eat the equivalent size of our fist each meal – is important and, if you really want to lose weight, don’t eat after 6pm so all your food is digested before you go to bed.

Exercise is obviously vital, not only aiding in weight loss but brilliant for the mood.

I am not quite sure why I am writing this coming into winter when all we do is crave comfort food and personally I can’t wait for mince pies – but, for the most part, for comfort, try and eat squashes and root vegetables instead of biscuits and cakes! n Fiona Chapman is a Naturopathic Herbalist (Pellyfiona@gmail.com)

Exercise aids in weight loss and is good for the mood. PHOTO: StockSnap from Pixabay

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Meditations in nature: A walk through time in the Avalon Marshes

By Susie Curtin

I FEEL like a change of scene today. So, I pack a picnic and set off for the Somerset Levels to wander through the nature reserves that collectively have become known as the Avalon Marshes – a name that honours the region’s Arthurian heritage.

This atmospheric landscape has wide open skies and is laced with golden reedbeds, peat-coloured pools, ditches and lakes that create a watery, shimmering wonderland that sits on the edge of civilisation beneath the shadow of Glastonbury Tor. It is one of the flattest places in the UK and is internationally important for wildlife.

I have decided to follow the Sweet Track, that was first discovered by a cutter in 1970 in the days when the main industry on the Levels was the excavation of peat. As well as artefacts, several other Neolithic tracks across the marsh, dating back nearly 6000 years, have been discovered. I haven’t walked this trail for years, not since my boys were at school studying history.

Now there is no one around, just me, the pitter patter of raindrops on my hood and the calls of wild geese. It feels like I am walking through time, accompanied by my memories and the thoughts of my feet following in the footsteps of ancestors – men and women slung with axes and bows and arrows, rather than binoculars and camera. I wonder what life would have been like for these ancient farmers out here in this damp, swampy land of peat and reed.

The sunshine and showers that accompany my walk create an evocative light. With each passing shower, the collage of coloured leaves beneath my feet and the water droplets on the trees glisten like jewels as the sunbeams replace the rain. Reflections in the pools come and go, and rainbows grace the skies, their arcs gradually getting higher as the sun lowers.

Making my way towards my favourite hide, I am surprised to see Common Darter dragonflies basking in the mid-November sun, a sure indication of our warming climate. From the hide, I watch the pink feathery reed heads sway in the breeze and small groups of tufted ducks, gadwall and teal nonchalantly drifting on the water. Then, out of nowhere, I see the distinctive V-shape of a male Marsh Harrier as he effortlessly glides over the hide towards the reeds. They are the largest of our harriers. The males are silver, black and rusty red whereas the females are bigger and predominantly brown.

The elegant and fascinating Marsh Harrier (top) has come back from the brink of extinction. The atmospheric Avolon Marshes on the Somerset Levels (above) HAWK PHOTO: Светлана/Pixabay

This elegant and fascinating bird of prey has come back from the brink of extinction in Britain since 1971 when only one breeding pair was left. Habitat restoration, stronger legal protection and the decline in the use of DDT has brought them back to charm our skies with their impressive ‘sky dancing’ displays of courtship. Later, I encounter four more – all females with their pale orange heads and shoulders gleaming in the low light.

As I set off for home, the starlings are beginning to gather, and the sun has dipped beneath the trees. What a wonderful day I have had out in this mystical place of nature. Rainbows, memories and Marsh Harriers, what could be better. n Dr Susie Curtin, nature writer and qualitative researcher; wildlife travel blog at rewildingjourneys.com/; email curtin.susanna@gmail.com

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The times have been a-changing…

By Alice Johnsen

I’M seeing a recurrent theme with clients at the moment. It’s about the recovery from lockdown. Not specifically the medical or logistical recovery, more the emotional one.

If you are finding it tough to re-establish yourself in this post-lockdown world and find yourself looking back on the good old days pre-Covid when we just got on with life and, looking back, it was pretty easy, you are not alone.

I’m not about to offer a great solution or even a quick fix. I don’t have one. But I wanted to share what I have been talking about with clients – the marathon that is the process of recovery we are now in.

During the lockdowns, while we faced unique challenges, loneliness, fear, frustration, there was also a feeling of ‘being in this together’ and a novelty. It was something we all had to adapt to together and we believed, most of the time, this would be a short term situation which made it seem manageable.

But now, here we are in the long, slow and boring process of recovery. Furlough and home schooling have gone, working from home going. We’re back to how it was – although we’re not really. We’re left feeling we should just get on with life again but many people are not sure how to do that now.

Added to that, dynamics of relationships have changed in many partnerships because of the last few years.

The accumulation of causes of anxiety caused by recovery and ongoing uncertainty seeps into all parts of our lives and become draining and distracting.

Two clients just this week have told me they feel they have no plan. They feel unsettled and not sure where they should be heading.

We all have own limits and comparing ourselves to what we perceive to be other people’s success stories is not helpful. I have written before about steps we can all take to manage stress and anxiety and in the next issue I will list the key ones for readers to refer back to over the coming months.

For now, please know if you are feeling unsettled, not sure where you are going, distracted – you are not alone and even if you are taking tiny steps, you are moving forward and that is a good enough start. n Alice Johnsen is a life coach based near Sherborne (07961 080513; alicejohnsen.co.uk)

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